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Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Want a ZenWatch? Get in line. Asus may only make 300 of them

The Asus ZenWatch may not get a very wide release when it goes on sale later this year, or even be available in any great numbers, if a new report is accurate. According to Chinese website VR-Zone, the first batch of ZenWatch models may not total more than 300. Yes, you read that right. Not 30,000, or even 3,000. Three hundred. If that didn’t make picking up an Asus smartwatch a rather difficult task, then the article also indicates it’ll only be sold in Taiwan initially.

Revealed in early September, the ZenWatch is one of the new generation of smart watches which takes design seriously, edging away from the basic shapes we’re familiar with, and concentrating on making something stylish and wearable every day. The screen is square, but covered in curved glass and encased in a rounded, metal body, complete with a classic leather strap. It’s understated, and very good-looking.

It’s a shame, then, we may not have much of a chance to buy one. When Asus announced the ZenWatch, we were promised a late 2014 launch date, and a price of around $260, making it even more attractive. There was never talk of it being a limited edition, so it may be that Asus has run into problems producing the high-spec watch. It’s equipped with a Snapdragon 400 processor, a 1.63-inch AMOLED touchscreen, 4GB of internal memory, and the Android Wear operating system.

The Chinese report doesn’t mention an international release, and there’s a chance the ZenWatch may only get a limited release in Taiwan for a short time, with the rest of the world seeing the watch in greater numbers. Android Wear isn’t localized for the region yet, so this is a possibility. We’ll keep you updated.